There is considerable and continuing public concern related to an increase in the use of opioid painkillers in the United Kingdom. There is also professional and governmental concern regarding misuse of prescription medicines and the number of prescriptions of opioid analgesics. The backdrop are the serious public health concerns in the USA. This document sets out the issues and recommendations for action locally | ROCA, UK

Minimum unit pricing (MUP) was implemented in Scotland on 1 May 2018. The purpose of this briefing is to • describe some of the available data sources, the measures available from those sources and what they show in the 6-month period post-MUP • describe the data that will be used in the evaluation of MUP being led by NHS Health Scotland | NHS Health Scotland, UK

[Open access] English national prospective, observational cohort study of patients continuously enrolled for five years in opioid substitution treatment (OST) with oral methadone and sublingual buprenorphine. This is a secondary outcome analysis of change in use of alcohol and other drug use (AOD) following identification of heroin use trajectories during OST | Science Direct, UK

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of drug testing at festivals, nightclubs and other large gatherings of young people on the health and safety of those people | They work for you, UK

While the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 appears to have controlled circulation of novel psychoactive substances, formerly known as ‘legal highs’, on the high street, a Home Office review has proved what many experts predicted — that the legislation would drive sales onto the streets and the dark web | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK

There is growing evidence to support the use of e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to smoking.1 Simply put, switching to vaping from smoking tobacco can reduce exposure to toxic chemicals that can lead to cancer in cigarette smokers | Nursing in Practice, UK

Free event. December 10th. 70 Oxford St, Manchester. Over the past decade in Hong Kong, the Nepalese community has been dealing with a heroin use problem that is disproportionate to its size. There has been an attempt to quantify the scale of the issue but there is a gap in a qualitative understanding of this complex situation | Manchester Met, UK

Sensing its centrality to effective counselling and therapy, drug and alcohol treatment workers and their clients prioritise help with forming therapeutic relationships. This customised collection brings together Effectiveness Bank analyses on how to relate to a typically heavily stigmatised and socially excluded treatment population | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Longer term alcohol-related findings of a large-scale Australian trial argue strongly for harm reduction to be the basis for substance use education in schools. That might be accepted for alcohol, but with national UK policies prioritising drug-free outcomes, would it be a step too far for illegal drugs? | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

Research led by Luisa Prochazkova of Leiden University in the Netherlands indicates that ingesting tiny amounts of magic mushrooms could enable people to experience their reputed creativity-boosting effects, without the risk of ‘bad trips’ associated with higher doses | BBC, UK

A former Colombian drug lord known for an extreme plastic-surgery makeover meant to hide his identity testified on Thursday at a US trial about his lucrative drug-trafficking alliance with notorious Mexican counterpart Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman | Telegraph, UK

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a warning letter to Electric Lotus LLC for selling nicotine-containing e-liquids used in e-cigarettes with labeling and/or advertising that cause them to resemble kid-friendly food products, such as cereal, candy and peanut butter and jelly | FDA, USA

Marijuana vaporizers heat pot to a temperature just below combustion, allowing people to inhale the intoxicating chemical THC from the plant material without breathing in any smoke | Medical Xpress, USA

In recent weeks Washington has been stepping up its efforts to delegitimize kratom—and a DEA source tells Filter that it’s only a matter of when, not if, the herbal supplement will be designated a Schedule I substance, putting it on par with heroin and various fentanyl analogues | Filter Magazine, USA

In support of their plan to legalise pill testing of party drugs in Victoria, the Greens have taken aim at drug detection canines, declaring: "Drug sniffer dogs are incorrect 75 per cent of the time." | abc.net.au, Australia

Media reports last week linked the use of “nangs” to the death of a teenager at schoolies week on the Gold Coast. Hamish Bidgood died when he fell from a balcony. He and his friends had reportedly been using “nangs” that day | Conversation, Australia

Calls for reforms to the approach Australian governments take to illicit drugs are growing stronger. The idea that personal drug use and possession should be treated primarily as a health and social issue, and not a criminal offence, is starting to become commonplace | Sydney Criminal Lawyers blog, Australia

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